


Nightmare

by EyePhoenix



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Allison Hargreeves (briefly/ mentioned), Diego Hargreeves (briefly/ mentioned), Drunk number Five, Explicit language/ swearing, Gen, Klaus is trying his best, Luther Hargreeves (briefly/ mentioned), Mention of blood, Reginald Hargreeves (briefly/ mentioned), Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Vanya Hargreeves (briefly/ mentioned), mention of drugs, no beta we die like men, technically underage drinking?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:08:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26436976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EyePhoenix/pseuds/EyePhoenix
Summary: Five is woken by a nightmare about the apocalypse and turns to an unwise coping mechanism.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 66





	Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> I’m really sorry in advance for the bad tagging and terrible summary, I’m not great at it and still have no idea what to put in the tags. I’ll have a proper look at the summary and tagging when I wake up again. 
> 
> I also have no idea when exactly this is set, I just wrote it for a bit of fun and about halfway through writing it I started having huge doubts about it and my brain kinda went “what the hell are we even doing?” So it ended up like this… again, I’m really sorry 
> 
> This is also my first Umbrella Academy fic so I’m not 100% happy with the end result and the characters may seem a little OOC 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it and as always I do not own any of the characters, themes and scenes from Umbrella Academy. Please suppose the official release
> 
> ~Fox xxx

_Ash fell from the sky._

_Five felt a burning sensation hit the back of his throat, making him instinctively cover his mouth with his sleeve as he began to cough in an attempt to clear the smoke from his lungs._

_He felt himself nearly trip over the rubble as he stumbled toward the familiar iron wrought gates, only to find the sparse remains of a building where his home should’ve been._

_“V-Vanya! Ben!” Five called out in a strained voice. “Dad!” He stared about himself wildly as panic began to course through his body. “Anyone!”_

_He pulled he gates apart, letting them fall off of their fragile hinges and drop onto the ground with a loud clatter as he staggered up the stone steps and cast his eyes over the scattered and smouldering remains of the Umbrella Academy._

_He felt a lump form in his throat as he spotted a hand amongst the ruins. Without a second thought, he ran forwards and began to shift through rubble and wooden beams until he uncovered the pallid face of a burly young man._

_“Luther?” Five tried to shake the other man awake. “Luther!”_

_He could see blood seeping from a deep wound above Luther’s left eye. His torso was pinned down by a large, concrete column that was too heavy for Five to move on his own._

_He stared about himself in search of anyone who could help him free Luther, but quickly found another figure of a woman lying on the ground nearby._

_“Allison!”_

_Five ran across the rumble and debris to her side, only to find that Allison had met a fate similar to Luther’s._

_“No, no, no!” Five cried out as he ran a hand through his hair and desperately surveyed his surroundings more closely._

_He soon spotted the bodies of Diego and Klaus; both of his brothers lie motionless beneath rubble in awkward positions._

_“Va-Vanya!” Five finally stumbled across the form of his final sister within the ruins of the academy’s drawing room, her small frame laid in the foetal position._

_Five carefully rolled Vanya onto her back. If it wasn’t for the fact that he could see blood staining the clothes on her abdomen and felt the coldness of her skin, he would’ve thought that she had just been sleeping._

_“Not you too, Vanya. Wake up. Wake up!”_

_“So, you’ve decided to return to us at last, number five.”_

_The familiar, condescending voice that reached his ears made Five’s heart drop and his stomach lurch uncomfortably. He slowly rose to his feet and turned on the spot until he came face to face with elderly man wearing a suit, his most defining feature was the signature monocle that seemed to glisten menacingly in the light of the nearby fires._

_“Dad.” Five murmured to himself in a barely audible voice._

_“I told you so. I told you that you wasn’t ready for time travel.” Reginald stared at Five coldly as he steadily closed the distance between them. “I told you that it was too unpredictable, but you didn’t listen to me? No. You abandoned the academy for your own selfish desires.”_

_Five tried to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat and took deep breaths in an attempt to quell the anger rising in his chest, “you don’t get to lecture me about selfish desires!” He spat at his father in a quivering voice._

_“Look around, number five.” Reginald continued as though Five hadn’t spoke. “You caused this. The Umbrella Academy has fallen and it’s all your fault.”_

_“No, you’re wrong!”_

_“Your hands are stained with the blood of your brothers and sisters, number five.”_

_As though his father’s words were spoken into reality, Five felt a wet sensation wash over his hands, when he glanced down he found that they were covered in a deep, crimson liquid. With a startled jump, he frantically tried to wipe the blood off of his hands on his shorts._

_“F-Five…”_

_A cracked, strained voice issued from behind him as he felt something ice cold wrap itself around his wrist. He glanced over his shoulder to find that Vanya had grabbed his wrist and was staring up at him with tears streaming from her eyes._

_“Why, Five?” Vanya’s hand tightened painfully around his wrist; stopping Five from pulling himself free from her grip. “Why didn’t you come back? Why did you leave us?”_

_Numerous scraping sounds followed by dull clatters reached Five’s ears, making him whirl around on the spot to find his remaining siblings slowly pushing rubble and debris off of themselves as they rose to their feet and began to stagger and limp towards him with the same hurt expressions that Vanya wore._

_“No —” Five tried to pull his wrist out of Vanya’s vice-like grip while his brothers and sisters continued to advance towards him “— I didn’t mean to! I didn’t know that the apocalypse was going to happen! I wanted to come back! I tried to come back!”_

_“This is all your fault, Five!” Diego hissed as he slowly reached for his knives._

_“I heard a rumour —“ Allison said in a harsh tone while she stared at Five with cold eyes “— that we all despise you.”_

_“Abandoned and left for dead… by our own brother.” Klaus added in a choked voice._

_“You’ve got some real nerve showing your face around here.” Luther grunted as he easily wrapped one of his fists around Five’s neck and began to squeeze._

_Five tried to use his spatial jump to teleport away from them, but quickly found that he couldn’t._

_“L-Lu…ther!” Five gasped for air and used his free hand to try and prise Luther’s hand open while he frantically kicked his legs. “L-Luther… st… op! I… ca… n’t…!”_

_He could feel his struggling weaken as his vision began to grow darker and blurred until he saw and felt nothing._

* * *

Five woke up with a shuddered gasp to find himself sitting on the floor of his childhood bedroom, leaning against the foot of his bed. 

He raised a shaky hand and rubbed his neck in the spot where he had been sure that Luther had grabbed him moments ago as he stared around the darkened room. 

A dream. It was just a dream. 

His gaze finally found the small clock that stood on his desk and he was just able to read the time in the dim lighting. 

Twenty-six minutes past two. 

Allowing his hand to drop back down to his side, Five relaxed the tension in his shoulders as he leant back into his bed, closed his eyes and took deep breaths to recompose himself. 

“I let my guard down and fell asleep again.” He murmured to himself as he ran a shaky hand through his hair, slowly opened his eyes again and turned his gaze towards a mannequin that was resting beside the window. “Yeah, it was that dream again… but Vanya was there this time.” He paused for a moment before he spoke again, in an agitated tone this time. “I don’t need a proper rest, Delores. What I need is to figure out what causes the apocalypse so I can stop it, and falling asleep is wasting what little time I have.” 

With a dismissive snort at the mannequin, Five rose to his feet and used his spatial jump to teleport into the bathroom across the hall. 

He turned the tap on and splashed water onto his face, hoping that the cold water would help calm his nerves and wake him up a bit more. 

He carefully surveyed his appearance in the mirror above the sink. His features had become gaunt, he had no doubt that it was thanks to the malnourishment that he had suffered in the future, and his pallid complexion made the dark circles beneath his eyes stand out more. Adding the fact that he couldn’t recall the last time he had had a decent meal nor the last time he had slept without being abruptly awoken by a nightmare, Five was amazed that he hadn’t succumbed to exhaustion yet, even in this young, boyish body. 

I need a coffee. 

He turned the tap off and grabbed a towel that was hanging on the wall nearby to dry his face before he turned his back on the mirror and teleported into the kitchen. 

He pulled every cupboard open and searched inside, becoming more frantic the more he looked, while Allison’s words resurfaced in his mind. 

“Dad hated caffeine.” 

“Shit!” Five murmured irritably under his breath while he shut the last kitchen cupboard with more force than he had intended. “Why does it have to be so hard to get a cup of coffee around here?” As he turned to walk away, Five felt his foot connect with something on the ground and heard a clatter as the object fell over. As he glanced down, he saw a glass bottle slowly roll under the kitchen table. “What the -?” He stooped down and grabbed the bottle, curiously examining the honey coloured liquid inside as he returned to his full height before he unscrewed the cap and sniffed at the contents of the bottle. “Whiskey… Klaus must’ve left it behind.” He concluded to himself in a murmured voice as he eyed the bottle thoughtfully. “I’d rather a cup of coffee, but beggars can’t be choosers.” He added with a small shrug before he took a swig of whiskey. 

* * *

“Can you believe they refused to serve me?” Klaus complained in a mock-hurt, whiny voice as he stumbled towards the kitchen and almost accidentally knocked a photo frame off of the wall while he took a small mouthful of vodka from the hip flask in his hand. “I am one of their most loyal patrons and this is how they treat me?” He scrunched up his face dramatically and pretended to wipe away tears.

“Loyal patron?” Ben shook his head disapprovingly at Klaus. “You were only there for two hours and that was only because you refused to leave an hour after closing time. I’m surprised they were that patient with you… watch where you’re going!” Ben called out as he instinctively tried to grab Klaus’ arm before he walked into an antique table, only to watch as his own hand phased through Klaus’ arm without making contact. 

“Exactly, I’m barely even buzzed!” Klaus countered as he clumsily dodged around the table. “Let’s not forget that they man handled me too!”

“You were leaning over the bar andhelping yourself to shots, I’d say that their response was pretty fair.” 

“Can’t you take my side for once?” Klaus shot at Ben over his shoulder as he crossed over the threshold into the kitchen. “And I would have paid if Five gave me the twenty bucks he owes me. Not that it matters now, I’ve got a bottle kicking around here anyway —“ 

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough, Klaus?”

“— and I’ve got a few little friends to get me through the rest of the night.” Klaus added gleefully as he pulled a little bag of pills out of his coat pocket and gave them a little shake. 

“Klaus —“

“Oh, save the lecture for one day.” Klaus scoffed and rolled his eyes. 

“No, Klaus look!” Ben pointed towards a figure slumped over the kitchen table. 

Klaus blinked at the figure in disbelief, “is that Five?” He asked before his eyes trailed over to the almost empty bottle in Five’s hand. “Is that my whiskey? I was looking forward to drinking that!” 

Five peeled himself off of the table and stared at the newcomer with unfocused eyes, “Klaus?” 

“Hey there, buddy!” Klaus greeted Five in an overly friendly voice as he swaggered towards the kitchen table and stowed the pills and the hip flask away in his coat pocket. “Looks like you’re trying to drown a few problems there, Five. Let’s see… I’m sensing… maybe some daddy issues? Why don’t you come and tell your big brother Klaus all about it?”

“Very funny.” Five snorted indignantly before he took a large mouthful of whiskey. 

“He’s drunk.” Ben pointed out. 

“Holy shit.” Klaus murmured under his breath while he tried to survey the young boy closely, before he spoke up to address Five. “I think you might’ve had just a little too much to drink.” He slowly pulled the bottle of whiskey out of Five’s grasp. 

“You’re one to talk.” Ben snorted. 

“Shut up, Ben.” 

“You sound just like Delores.” Five slurred with a small chuckle. “She always says I drink too much.” 

“Who’s Delores?” Ben asked in a confused voice. 

Klaus gave Ben a small shrug as he pulled the dining chair opposite Five’s out from beneath the table and let himself drop into the chair. 

“I never thought you’d be the type to drink.” Klaus commented as he tried to subtly move the bottle of whiskey further out of Five’s reach. 

“Being stuck in the post-apocalyptic shithole for forty-five years would drive anyone to drink.” Five shrugged halfheartedly and slumped back in his own chair.

“Coffee?” 

“I fell asleep, so I needed caffeine.” 

“Wait, wait, wait.” Klaus settled more comfortably in his seat and squinted at Five in confusion. “What’s wrong with falling asleep?” 

Five ran a hand through his hair as he regarded Klaus with a surveying stare, before he spoke up with a resigned sigh. 

“Sometimes I have nightmares about the apocalypse when I fall asleep, so I drink coffee to keep myself awake.” Five explained. “And I couldn’t find any coffee around here so whiskey felt like a good alternative.” He added with a small, sarcastic grin. 

“No, come on, Five.” Klaus gave an exasperated groan and shook his head at Five. “You really don’t want to start turning to alcohol to numb yourself.” 

Five gave a short laugh and narrowed his eyes at his brother, “I don’t need to hear that from you of all people.” 

“He’s got a point.” Ben said in a teasing voice as he shot a smirk at Klaus, earning himself a reproachful glare from the seance. 

“It’s like I said earlier.” Five continued in a stoic tone as he stared down at the table with a vacant expression and tried to suppress a hiccup. “The apocalypse is coming.” 

“You know, now that you mention it,

I do recall you saying something about an apocalypse earlier.” Klaus said with a thoughtful frown. “But it’s like you said, it’s just a nightmare —“ 

“It’s not just a nightmare!” Five snapped as he shot Klaus a dark glare. “Unless you’ve forgotten, I’ve been to the future and I’ve lived through the apocalypse!” He heaved a deep sigh, shook his head and tried to recompose himself. “You wouldn’t get it, Klaus. None of you would. You’re all too young, too naive. Now if you don’t mind —“ He leant across the table to reach for the bottle of whiskey. 

“No, no, no, no!” Klaus quickly snatched the bottle from the table and shoved it into his other coat pocket. 

“Give me the bottle, Klaus.” Five demanded in a warning tone and held out his hand expectantly. 

“No way.”

“Fine.” Five gave the other man a hardened stare before he got unsteadily to his feet. “It’s not like I can’t get into the liquor cabinet.” 

“He’s drunker than I thought.” Ben frowned as he and Klaus watched Five sway slightly on the spot and his face begin to turn pale. 

“Five?” Klaus slowly stood up and peered at his brother closely. “Hey, you don’t look so good, you feeling okay?” 

“I’ll be fine after I’ve had another drink.” Five mumbled irritably as he staggered away from his chair and held onto the kitchen counters for support. 

“You need to have a drink of water and get some sleep.” Klaus said as he rushed to Five’s side and held him upright. “Shit, I really hope I’ve sobered enough for this.” Klaus tried to stifle a frustrated laugh as he stooped down, draped Five’s arm around his shoulders and awkwardly guided the boy out of the kitchen; making Five stumble along on his tiptoes to keep up with him. 

“Take a bowl with you.” Ben sighed as he watched Klaus struggle with Five. “He’s gonna be sick.” 

“Right, right.” Klaus muttered, double backing on himself to grab a nearby saucepan.

He led Five through the hallway with Ben following closely behind them until they reached the staircase. 

“Okay.” Klaus took a deep breath and readjusted his grip on Five’s relaxed form. “We can do this.” 

He slowly prompted Five to walk up the stairs, one step at a time, and taking short breaks when his arms and back began to ache, to refocus himself or when he felt their balance wobble slightly in fear of falling down the stairs. 

“I really hope this is an eye opener for you.” Ben commented as Klaus and Five reached the half way point of the second flight of stairs. 

“N-now is really not the time to lecture me.” Klaus panted through gritted teeth while he hoisted Five up as he felt the boy slipping out of his grip again. 

After what felt like an eternity, Klaus finally managed to half-drag, half-walk Five into his bedroom. He let Five drop onto the edge of his bed with a dull thud and shoved the saucepan into the young boy’s hands. 

“Water.” Klaus heaved an exhausted sigh as he grabbed a glass cup from Five’s bedside table and rushed into the bathroom across the hall to fill it, leaving Ben to watch over their drunken brother. “Come on, Five. You’ve gotta drink this.” Klaus said as he crossed back over the threshold into Five’s bedroom, only to find the young boy had slumped sideways on his bed, while still cradling the saucepan, and had fallen into a deep sleep. 

“He’s out like a light.” Ben told Klaus. 

“You know, he almost looks cute and innocent when he’s asleep.” Klaus said as he carefully set the glass down on the bedside table once more, knelt down at Five’s bedside and silently watched his rhythmic breathing while Ben gave a small nod of agreement. “He is going to have a bitch of a hangover in the morning.” 


End file.
